Written by Katlyn Marotz | Sports Editor, Staff Writer
While most Indian Trail teachers ideally would prefer teaching their students in person, many expressed relief when the KUSD school board voted to transition to strictly virtual learning from Nov. 30 to Jan. 8 as the COVID-19 pandemic surged.
Prior to the decision, students had the option of attending in-person or virtually, creating a hybrid model that teachers argue forced them at times to split their attention between the virtual and in-person learner.
English teacher Katie Phillips thinks KUSD made a good choice to go all virtual during the surge. The decision looked out for the safety of the community by keeping students and staff out for a little while. Most teachers would agree with that, Phillips said she believes.
“We (would) continue to see day after day that another one of our students had tested positive, and we (would) have to quarantine,” Phillips said. “We don’t want students to be ill, take the virus home to family members. And we don’t want to bring it home to our families either.”
Phillips said she wants to come back to school. She misses teaching in-person.
“Most teachers miss being in a classroom, we miss our kids. But we also want to make sure we’re doing this in a safe way,” she said.
Phillips’ view is shared by many of her colleagues, according to Tanya Kitts-Lewinski, Kenosha Education Association president and a special education teacher at Indian Trail High School.
“I think it’s really important to know that no matter how educators feel about the safety of our buildings right now, we all want to be back in our classrooms with students,” Kitts-Lewinski said. “We just want to be safe,” she said. “We don’t want a single staff member, student, or family member to become seriously ill or to lose their life. And this pandemic is serious. I had a student who lost both their brother and mom to COVID this past year.”
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization, about 1.5 million teachers are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
“I feel more relaxed when we are fully remote because I am not worried about getting sick and developing a potentially deadly illness,” said an English teacher, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. “I can focus on my teaching and students learning rather than being stressed and scared. The fear exhausts me more than anything.”
Teaching and learning virtually isn’t simple, teachers and students agree. Throughout the pandemic, school educators have continuously juggled lessons and content while making tough decisions to create a safe learning environment for students.
According to a May 26, 2020, USA TODAY article, 83% of teachers say they are having a harder time doing their job, and two-thirds say they have had to work more than usual.
When teaching science, teaching virtually is especially difficult, according to Christina Massicotte-Kollar, an earth science teacher.
“In science you have labs, and I can’t really make a virtual student have a conversation with me,” Massicotte-Kollar said. “At the same time, the people who aren’t interested in school can turn the camera off and walk away and then you’re just left with a great group of students who are really interested in learning. It is difficult to help the students who struggle to learn.”
Educators expressed that teaching virtually or hybrid brings on more stress and chaos.
“Virtual and remote teaching are extremely different in that I have to be more organized than I have ever been in my life. I plan every second of my lessons now, and I practice teaching them at home with my family (truth) before actually delivering them,” said the English teacher, who requested anonymity.
Like other subjects, half of the material is hands-on, and teaching that remotely makes it hard to teach. All of these challenges are having an impact.
A May 20-28 survey by Education Week Research Center polled 1,907 educators. The results found teachers now say they – and their colleagues – are more likely to leave the classroom at the end of this school year than they were before the coronavirus pandemic began.
“Sadly, we are seeing amazing educators retire early or resign to take jobs in districts that are prioritizing health and safety. That ultimately hurts students,” Kitts said. “We have to change the way we talk about educators and KEA in our community too.”
But what most teachers find the biggest difference between in-person and virtual learning is the loss of connections between them and their students.
“So many kids don’t want to turn on their cameras or microphones. And I understand that and I try to respect their choice as much as I can,” Phillips said. “But it’s difficult for me to speak to a blank screen for an hour and a half. It becomes very challenging to not have any response or any feedback. And I miss that,”
“Seeing their faces and hearing their voices, just does so much for me, that that’s just something I truly miss the most and I wish we could fix,” she said.
And with the arrival of the vaccine, most teachers still believe students should remain virtual until positive cases decrease, with extracurricular activities being suspended or even cancelled. This might give hospitals a chance to catch their breath before going into the flu season.
On a broader note, this also brings the spotlight to what officials are doing for the community’s safety.
“The entire nation has spent much of the past year arguing forcefully that our schools are the foundation of our nation. It’s time for our elected leaders to prove that they really care about our schools instead of using teachers as scapegoats to cover up their own failure in handling this pandemic,” the anonymous English teacher said.
Americans should look within themselves and their values when it comes to respecting each other to achieve a better common good, the teacher said.
“The budget crisis caused by this pandemic is also going to be severe. When it comes time to make cuts, I hope that American legislators and voters remember how they fought for schools to open, remember their speeches telling everyone that schools are the lifeblood of a community,” she said.